Borrowed Time
by AleutianStorm
Summary: Sequel to Stolen Time A Deadliest Catch fic
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Here we go again. For the record, I don't own anything. Sigh.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Andy said cheerfully, "you're on wheel-watch and I'm going to bed."

"Fuck off," came Johnathan's semi-coherent response.

"Seriously, man," Andy said, "get up."

Johnathan rolled out of his bed and headed toward the wheelhouse. He turned back to look at his brother and muttered sarcastically, "You know, the last person who woke me up was a lot nicer than you are."

"Yeah, yeah," Andy grinned, "and she was a hell of a lot better looking too!"

A week later, as Johnathan guided the Time Bandit through the Opie grounds, he thought about the night he and Juliette had decided to 'start over' and how much his life had changed for the positive since that night. Being in love was definitely better than being a commitment-phobic womanizer. Sighing heavily, he muttered, "Now I just have to find a way to tell her."

"Tell her what?" came a voice from behind him.

Johnathan jumped, he hadn't heard Steve enter the wheelhouse. "Hey, Steve," he said, "I didn't hear you come in."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I thought you could use this," Steve smiled as he handed Johnathan a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," Johnathan said.

Steve settled himself into the co-captain's chair as Johnathan continued to stare out the window into the seemingly endless blackness of the Bering Sea.

After a while, Steve broke the silence, "What's on your mind, Johnathan?"

Johnathan smirked, "It's more like who's on my mind. I got so used to having her around for the last three weeks and now I really miss having her on the boat."

"Yeah," Steve replied, "I heard she ended up spending Christmas with you and your family in Homer."

"Best Christmas I've ever had," Johnathan said quietly.

"Good," Steve said firmly as Johnathan gave him a confused look. "Look," he continued, "you know she's my best friend. She's like a sister to me, man. I've been really protective of her since Simon died and I just don't want to see her get hurt."

Johnathan took a moment to gather his thoughts and then looked directly at the cameraman sitting across his wheelhouse. "I want you to know that I will never, ever, intentionally do anything that would hurt her. I know I have a rotten, but well deserved reputation for being a real asshole to the women in my life, but this just feels different somehow. I-I love her."

Steve grinned at him, "Well then, I guess that means I don't have to worry about trying to kick your ass! Have you told her yet?"

Johnathan rolled his eyes. "No. I haven't figured out how to yet."

Juliette twisted uncomfortably in her bunk at the St. Paul Island Coast Guard station. She had gotten so used to falling asleep with Johnathan that it was proving impossible to get to sleep without him. She'd slept like shit since the season started a week and half ago. Sighing, she threw back the blanket and quietly made her way to the radio room, where Tim Rutherford was on duty.

"Hey, Jules," Tim said without looking up from the monitor in front of him, "what are you doing up at this ungodly hour?"

"Can't sleep," she muttered.

Tim chuckled softly. "That wouldn't have anything to do with that little scene on the Time Bandit before the season started, would it?"

Juliette's cheeks flamed. "So, uh, you noticed that, huh?" she said.

"Kind of hard not to," he smirked. "What's up with you and Johnathan Hillstrand anyway?" Tim replied, gesturing to a ratty, old chair next to the radio panel.

Seating herself in the indicated spot, she said, "I guess you could say we're dating."

Tim Rutherford let out a low whistle, "So, I gather that a lot has changed since the last time you were filming here, huh?"

"Yeah," she said in an almost inaudible voice. The last time she'd been filming at the Coast Guard station she'd left abruptly in the middle of the season when she'd gotten the call that Simon had been killed in Iraq.

The Coast Guard commander turned his chair to face her. "Are you happy with him, Jules?"

"Very," she whispered. "He makes me really happy. The last time I was this happy, well…" she trailed off.

Tim smiled at her. "I'm glad you're happy and I'm thinking that your little bout of insomnia is because you miss him."

Juliette giggled in spite of herself. "Oh God, is it that obvious."

"Oh yeah," Tim laughed. "Go back to bed, Jules. We're taking a chopper out over the crab grounds to survey the ice pack tomorrow morning, and I'm guessing you'll want to be on board since all the boats insist on radioing us whenever we do that."

"Thanks, Tim," she grinned as she headed back to her cold, lonely bunk.

The next morning, Juliette boarded the Coast Guard chopper and tried to concentrate on getting some good aerial shots as they covered the hundreds of miles to the Opie grounds and the omnipresent Arctic ice pack. After a while, she set her camera down and had almost fallen asleep when Jim Mitchell poked her in the arm and pointed out the window. Almost directly below them was a boat and on the horizon, the ice. She quickly grabbed her camera and zoomed in on the boat. It was the Time Bandit. The chopper crew was silent as they surveyed the scene and then the silence was shattered by a radio call.

"Coast Guard this is the Time Bandit, do you copy? Over." Johnathan's gravelly voice filled the chopper and Juliette nearly dropped her camera.

Jim Mitchell grinned as he answered, "Copy Time Bandit."

"How's the ice looking?" Johnathan asked.

Tim Rutherford motioned Juliette forward to the radio. "Go ahead, Jules. Make his day."

Juliette scrambled to the radio, a huge smile on her face. "Time Bandit, the ice appears to be about ten miles due North of your current position and closing in fast. Over," she answered him.

"What the…" Johnathan sounded confused for a moment before his hissing laugh crackled over the radio. "That's the best ice report I've ever heard!"

She grinned, "You won't be saying that in a couple of hours when the ice is all over your gear!"

"Well then, it's a good thing that we picked up all our gear and are planning to drop it closer to St. Paul when we head in for an offload. We should be there in about twenty four hours," he chuckled.

Tim interjected, "Jules, we gotta go."

Juliette sighed. "We're heading back in now. I'll see you soon, John."

"Bye, Beautiful," he said.

As the chopper returned to base, Juliette was lost in thought. After two weeks of being separated, she was finally going to see him again, and with any luck, she'd finally manage to say those three little words that she'd tried to say before the season started.

A/N: I'm not making any promises to update this fast. I've got another story brewing in the back of my mind, but I know that some of you have been patiently waiting for this sequel for quite a while (*looks pointedly at Wildviolet*).


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I'm so over writing these.

A/N: Contrary to what some people seem to think, I'm not dead. I've just been insanely busy. I'm hoping to update a little more frequently, but we'll see what happens.

Chapter 2

It was well after midnight when the Time Bandit docked at the floating processor in St. Paul Harbor. Johnathan was seated in the co-captain's chair smoking his fortieth cigarette of the day and sulking.

"Jeez, John," Andy grumbled as he turned off the main engine, "I thought you'd be happy to be here."

"It's late," Johnathan growled in response, "I don't want to wake her."

"Wake who?" came a female voice from behind him.

Johnathan nearly fell out of the chair as he turned around to see Juliette leaning against doorway of the wheelhouse. "How did you know we were here?" he asked incredulously.

Juliette smiled and shrugged. "Andy called me on the satellite phone and said you guys were running a couple of hours late. Besides, I was listening to all the harbor traffic on the radios. I heard you guys requesting permission to enter and I headed down here."

"You always manage to surprise the hell out of me," he grinned as he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.

"Uh," Andy cleared his throat, "the offload should take about ten hours and then we gotta head back out."

Johnathan was already tugging Juliette toward the stateroom he and Andy usually shared. "Find somewhere else to sleep, dude," he tossed over his shoulder as he closed the door behind him.

Several hours later, Johnathan and Juliette lay in his bed completely spent.

"So, how's the season going?" she asked as she pillowed her head on his broad shoulder.

"Eh, okay, I guess," Johnathan answered. "The damn crab are being elusive this year and for some reason I can't seem to stand being on the boat these days."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you about the crab situation," she said, "but I'm a little worried that you can't stand being on the boat. You love the Time Bandit. You love fishing. What changed?"

Johnathan sighed heavily as he pulled her closer to him. "I don't know. I think a big part of it is how much I miss you. The rest of it…well…I'm getting older and I don't think I want to be on a boat ten months a year anymore. This is definitely a young man's job and I ain't getting any younger. It's getting hard to keep up."

"Why don't you take a break?" she asked.

"What do you mean 'take a break'?" he said, sounding puzzled.

Juliette sat up and looked at her boyfriend. "I mean take a vacation or something. It's not like you're really running the boat for Opies, so it shouldn't make that big of a difference if you take a couple of weeks off. Maybe you just need a break."

"Would you be joining me on this vacation?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

"I wish I could," Juliette groaned, "but my ass is stuck on St. Paul Island until the end of the season. However, after that, I'd love to run away with you to somewhere warm and tropical."

"I think I'd love that too," he smiled as he kissed the top of her head. "Maybe you're right about taking a mid-season break. I think I'll head south for a week or two while the boat is on its next trip. Hopefully it will give me a chance to rest up and plan our little post-Opies get away."

"I can't wait," she giggled.

"Me neither," he hissed as he pulled her onto him and started kissing her. "I think we've got another hour or so before the boat leaves."

"Perfect," she moaned, "Just remind me to leave with _all_ of my clothes this time. If I keep leaving them here, I'll be out of bras by the end of the season!"

An hour and a half later, Andy gently tapped on the stateroom door. "Um, guys, the boat's leaving in fifteen minutes."

The door opened a crack and Johnathan slipped out. "Um, I think I'm going to go home for a couple weeks."

Andy couldn't hide his surprise. "What? Why?"

"I need a break, man." Johnathan explained. "I just can't keep my mind in the game and I need a break. I'll be back by the next offload date."

"Um, okay." Andy said warily. "Do you need a lift to the airport?"

"Nah, Juliette said she'd take me on her way back to the Coast Guard station." he replied. "I promise, it's just a break. I'll be back."

Andy shrugged. "Okay, brother. Take care and call me if anything changes."

The brothers shook hands and Juliette emerged from Johnathan's room.

"Hey, Juliette," Andy smiled. "It's good to see you again."

"Hi, Andy. It's good to see you too," she replied as she sauntered past him.

Andy followed Johnathan and Juliette to the rail. "Like I said, bro, call me if anything changes," he said.

"Roger," Johnathan grinned as he jumped the rail and Andy passed his duffel bag to him.

"And you," Andy said, turning to Juliette, "don't be a stranger. You're always welcome on the Time Bandit."

"Thanks, Andy!" she smiled. "Here," she handed him something purple and silky, "tell your crew they can add it to their collection if they want!"

With that, Juliette jumped the rail and disappeared into the truck where Johnathan was waiting for a ride to the airport.

Andy looked down at the item she had handed him. It was a purple satin bra. Chuckling to himself as he made his way to the galley to give the crew their 'gift' from Juliette, he thought, _"She'll make a great sister-in-law someday."_

As they arrived at the shack that served as an airport on St. Paul Island, Juliette's mind was racing. She had a lot of things she wanted to say to Johnathan before he left, but wasn't sure how to say them.

"You've been awfully quiet," he observed.

"Sorry," she blushed, "I've just been thinking."

"And what are you thinking about," he asked, looking concerned.

She smiled, "Lots of things. Nothing bad, I promise."

Johnathan let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "You had me worried for a second. I didn't want to leave town if you were upset or anything."

"I'm fine, John," she grinned. "I promise. Now go get your ass on that plane so you can rest up and get back up here!"

"You know," he said as he pulled her close to him, "I'm going to miss you like crazy."

"And I'm going to miss you," she said softly, "but you need a break from this place."

Johnathan felt a wave of happiness course through his body. "You're the best," he said as he bent to kiss her. "I'll be back in a couple of weeks and then when this damn season is over, we can run away together for a while."

"That sounds perfect," she murmured as she closed her eyes and thought of baking on a beach somewhere with Johnathan. "I can't wait to run away with you."

Reluctantly, Johnathan released her. "I should probably go. I don't want to miss my flight," he muttered.

"Have a good flight. Call me when you get in," she said brightly, trying to keep her tears at bay. "I-I-I'll miss you."

"Bye, Beautiful. I'll miss you too," he murmured, pulling her in for one last soul-searing kiss. "I-I-I can't wait to see you again," he finished lamely.

As the tiny plane took off headed for Anchorage, Johnathan was mentally kicking himself. _"Dammit. Why can't I just tell her that I love her? What the hell is wrong with me?"_

At the same time, Juliette was driving back to the Coast Guard station and chastising herself. _"Why the hell can't I just tell him? I meant it when I said I couldn't wait to run away with him. I love him. I'd follow that man to the ends of the Earth if he asked me to."_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If I owned Johnathan, do you think I'd be writing this?

A/N: After careful consideration, I've decided to include what happened to Phil in my story. I apologize in advance to anyone who may be offended.

Chapter 3

"I see your ten pretzels and I raise you six Oreos."

"You're full of shit, JD. You've got nothing and you know it!" Tim Rutherford shot back.

"Really," Juliette smirked, "if you truly believed that, you wouldn't be stalling."

Jim Mitchell laughed. "She's got a point Tim."

Tim Rutherford snorted in disgust as he tossed his cards on the table and stood up. "I fold."

"Aw, chill out, Tim. I'll share the cookies with you!" Juliette grinned as she raked the assortment of snack foods that were serving as poker chips toward her.

It had been four days since Juliette had dropped Johnathan off at the airport and she had been doing her best to stay occupied in hopes of not missing him quite so badly. In the process, she had proven to the Coast Guard guys just how good her poker face was.

"You know," Jim mumbled around a mouthful of Oreos, "Hillstrand needs to get his ass back up here soon. Otherwise you're going to clean us out of junk food!"

"Bite me," Juliette grinned. "It's not my fault you guys suck at poker!"

Their playful exchange was cut short as the radio crackled to life. "Coast Guard this is St. Paul EMS, do you copy?"

Tim Rutherford dove for the radio, "Yes, we copy. Go ahead."

"We need emergency assistance down at the docks. I think we're going to have to use a crane to move an immobile man off a boat and we need some back up," came the EMS dispatcher's voice.

"Roger, which boat?" Tim asked.

There was a pause before the dispatcher responded. "The Cornelia Marie."

Juliette felt her heart leap into her throat as she grabbed her camera and her coat and rushed out the door behind the Coast Guard officers. She knew how close Johnathan was to Phil and his sons and she knew that Phil had had a host of medical problems in the past few years. As they arrived at the dock, she found herself praying that everyone onboard was okay.

Unfortunately, Juliette's prayers were not answered. She felt physically ill as she forced herself to film a semi-conscious Phil being lifted over the rail to a waiting ambulance and rushed to the local clinic.

As the ambulance departed, she caught sight of the Cornelia Marie's producer, Todd Stanley standing on the deck with tears in his eyes. She quickly hopped the rail and made her way to his side. "Hey, Todd. Are you okay?" she said quietly.

Todd shook his head. "You know Jeff's going to want me to get all of this on tape and I don't know if I can do it. After six years, Phil's not just another subject to be filmed. He's my friend. How am I supposed to be objective and tell a story here when all I want to do is freak out?"

Juliette considered her words carefully before answering. "That's why you have to do this, Todd. If anyone can tell the story it's you. Like you said, Phil's your friend, so pull yourself together and go check on him. See what Josh and Jake want you to do. I'll deal with Jeff."

"Thanks, Jules," Todd managed a shaky smile as they climbed over the rail.

As she slowly walked back to the Coast Guard station, Juliette's thoughts were racing. She knew there was another phone call she had to make, and she hated the fact that she had to do it.

Juliette's fingers shook as she dialed the phone and she nearly hung up when he answered.

"Hey, Beautiful!" Johnathan answered cheerfully. "How are you?"

"Um, John," her voice shook.

"What's wrong?" his voice was instantly serious. "Are you okay?"

She sighed heavily. "Yeah, I'm okay, but I need to tell you something. Are you sitting down?"

"Juliette, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" he demanded.

"John, it's Phil," she said softly. "He had a massive stroke and they're flying him to Anchorage tonight for treatment. He's stable, but it's pretty serious."

There was a long pause as Johnathan digested her words. "How are Josh and Jake?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Jake's on the plane to Anchorage with Phil and Josh is still on the boat. He's kind of numb right now, I think," she said. "Todd Stanley is leaving for Anchorage tomorrow morning."

"I'm gonna get on the first flight I can to Anchorage," he said. "I'll call you when I get there."

A little while later, Juliette made her way to the radio room carrying her duffel bag and camera case.

"All packed up, JD?" asked Jim Mitchell.

"Yeah, I guess so. I have no idea why Jeff decided that I should be the one backing Todd up in Anchorage, but I have to go," she muttered as she shifted her bag on her shoulder.

"Come on, I'll drive you to the airport," Jim replied.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Most of this story is depressing enough without being reminded that Johnathan does not belong to me.

A/N: Sorry for the short update, but I've been buried at work lately and wanted to get this chapter up before it left my head altogether. Please read and review…review notices are one of my favorite distractions in the office!

Chapter 4

The past twenty four hours had been a waking nightmare. Johnathan paced back and forth outside the Providence Alaska Medical Center, smoking a Winston, trying to process the enormous amount of medical jargon that had been thrown at him, and fighting a profound sense of loneliness. Todd Stanley had arrived in Anchorage the previous night with orders from Jeff Conroy to film whatever happened to Phil. At first, Johnathan had been prepared to throw Todd out of Phil's room, but his friend had rallied a bit and insisted that Todd keep filming. According to Phil, the story needed an end.

According to Todd, the production team was going to be sending another crew member to back him up, but he had no idea who it was going to be, nor did he know when his relief was arriving. Instead, he had staked out a couple of chairs in the lounge near Phil's room and was refusing to leave the hospital.

As he stood in the freezing cold, he noticed the distant lights of an airplane overhead. _"Maybe I should make a wish on that since there aren't any shooting stars around here," _he thought idly. He wished for Todd's back up to arrive soon. The cameraman was in desperate need of a shower and a solid night's sleep. Johnathan had been trading shifts at the hospital with Josh and Jake, so he'd been able to have a little down time which had been essential in preserving his sanity. He knew, for the time being, that he had to be strong for Josh…for Jake…for Phil. _"I just wish I didn't have to do this alone,"_ he thought as he trudged back inside to what he knew would be endless hours of watching, waiting and worrying.

Much later that night, Johnathan had slipped outside for another cigarette break. Phil was sound asleep and Josh and Jake had gone back to the hotel to discuss the different rehabilitation facilities and treatment options that awaited Phil in Seattle. He had scarcely touched the lighter to the end of his cigarette when a taxi stopped in front of the hospital doors and Juliette climbed out, hauling her duffel bag and camera case.

"Hey," she said quietly, "I hope I'm not intruding."

Johnathan's mouth hung open for a moment. "You're Todd's back up?" he whispered.

Juliette laid her hand on his arm. "Yeah, if that's okay. I can call Jeff and tell him to send someone else if you want."

He pulled her into a crushing embrace. "God, no. I want you here more than anyone else in the world. I don't think I can do this alone anymore," he murmured into her hair.

When she pulled back, she saw tears leaking from his eyes. "You're not alone," she said, reaching up to wipe the tears off his face. "I'm here for as long as you want me to be."

"Forever might almost be long enough," he said softly as he hefted her bag onto his shoulder, took her hand and lead her inside.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Nope, but a girl can dream.

Chapter 5

Juliette looked at the calendar posted on the wall of Phil's hospital room. February 7th. It had been ten days since she had made the horrible phone call to Johnathan telling him that his friend was sick. It had been six days since she'd arrived in Anchorage. It had been at least two weeks since she'd slept for more than four hours at a time. It had been hell.

Johnathan leaned over to her and whispered, "Do you mind sitting with him while I run out for a cigarette and call Andy with an update?"

When she looked over at the bed, Phil was sound asleep, surrounded by a snarl of tubes and wires. "No," she murmured, "I don't mind. Go ahead."

"Thanks," Johnathan replied, pecking her on the cheek before exiting the room.

"Is he gone?" Phil slurred softly as soon as the door closed behind Johnathan.

"Phil!" Juliette looked at him in shock, "You're awake! Do you want me to get him back here?"

Phil struggled for a moment before he spoke, "No. Come closer. I want to talk to you."

Juliette was puzzled, but she moved to stand beside Phil's bed. "What do you want to talk about, Phil?"

The ailing captain's blue eyes gleamed with mischief. "Would you rub my hands, they're killing me?" he asked.

Smiling, Juliette picked up Phil's left hand and began to massage it gently. "Is that better?" she asked.

"Yeah, but that's not all I wanted," Phil replied slowly. "I wanted to thank you."

Juliette was even more puzzled, "Why? There's nothing to thank me for."

"Bullshit," Phil muttered. "I want to thank you for making Johnathan so happy. I've known him for a lot of years and I've never seen him like this. You're probably the best thing that ever happened to him. Do you love him?"

Placing Phil's hand gently back on the bed, she replied, "Of course I do."

"I thought so," Phil said, as he nodded off again.

A few hours later, Juliette excused herself to go get more coffee for herself and Johnathan. The moment she left the room, Phil motioned Johnathan to the side of his bed.

"What's up, buddy? Do you need something?" Johnathan asked, concerned.

"That's one hell of a woman you found there," Phil said slowly.

Johnathan's hissing laugh filled the room, "Don't I know it!"

"Do you? Do you really?" Phil said, suddenly serious.

"Yeah, of course I do," Johnathan answered, giving his friend a quizzical look. "Why?"

"All this shit has made me realize that we're all here on borrowed time. It's what we do with that time that counts," Phil said.

Johnathan shook his head, "You're gettin' all philosophical on me here, man."

Phil struggled to sit up a little more in his bed. "Is she _the one_?" he asked.

There was a long pause as Johnathan considered his friend's question. "Yeah," he said softly, a grin spreading over his face, "I think she is."

Phil gave Johnathan a lopsided grin, "Then do something about it and soon. Don't fuck this up. Now, go find something to do. I wanna get some sleep before those damn vampire nurses come in here to poke and prod me some more!"

"Okay, buddy," Johnathan laughed as he pulled on his jacket, "you get some sleep and the boys will be here in about an hour to keep you company."

The only response he got was a gentle snore.

Dawn was breaking over Anchorage when Johnathan and Juliette returned to their hotel room.

"I'm going to take a hot shower and then I'm crashing," Juliette announced, tossing her jacket on the back of a chair and kicking her shoes off.

"Want some company?" Johnathan said lasciviously.

"Company would be nice," she grinned, "but you have to wash my back!"

"Deal!" he replied, pulling off his shirt and following her into the bathroom.

Moments later, the pair was engulfed by a rainfall of hot, steamy water.

"Was Phil asleep the whole time I was on the phone with Andy?" Johnathan queried as he lathered her back.

"Actually, he woke up the minute you left," she said, enjoying the feel of Johnathan's hands massaging out the knots that had developed from hours of sitting at the hospital.

"What did he say?" Johnathan said, continuing to massage her back.

"Um…" Juliette hesitated, "he asked me if I love you."

Johnathan's hands ceased to move and his heart began to race. "What did you tell him?"

She slowly turned around to face him. "I said that I do," she whispered. "I love you."

Instantly, Johnathan's lips crashed down on hers and his arms crushed her body to his. When they finally came up for air, he gasped, "Marry me."

She was convinced that her sleep-deprived mind was playing tricks on her. She could have sworn that Johnathan had just proposed to her. "Wh-what did you say?" she stammered.

"Marry me," he repeated.

Juliette took a deep breath and pushed her shower-soaked hair out of her eyes before she asked, "Are you serious?"

He took her tiny hands in his. "Phil said something to me tonight about how we're all here on borrowed time and it's what we do with that time that matters. It made me realize that _you_ are what matters to me in this world. You are the one. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my borrowed time with you. So please, answer the question. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she whispered.

A/N: Okay, not the world's longest update, but I wanted to give you all the next installment before the weekend. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. I really do appreciate the reviews (aka "Happy Little Office Distractions").


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: See Steve's comment below regarding monkeys.

A/N: Sorry it took me so damn long to update this. Thanks in advance for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 6-

"I think we have a couple of phone calls to make if we're going to do this and not piss anyone off," Juliette giggled as she and Johnathan stepped out of the Anchorage Municipal Courthouse into the blinding February sun.

"Yeah," he smirked. "I think my brothers, my mother and my kids would kill me if I don't tell them first. What about your family?"

"The only family I have that matters is on the Time Bandit with your brothers and your son," she said coolly.

"So, your family in Chicago, they're really as bad as Steve implied?" Johnathan asked.

"And then some," she replied bitterly. "As far as my parents are concerned, I'm an embarrassment to them because I chose to do what I wanted with my life rather than what they planned for me. I've spent too much of my life trying to make them love me for who I am rather than hate me for who I'm not and I'm done. I don't want to ruin this by letting them try to bring me down. They can find out later, along with the rest of the world."

Johnathan sighed deeply. "As long as you're good with that, I am. Now let's go make those calls!"

Johnathan unconsciously shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he dialed his mother's phone number. "I really hope she doesn't keel over from this," he smirked. "I think she gave this one up as a lost cause years ago!"

Sandra Hillstrand picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mom," he cleared his throat, "it's me."

"Johnathan! Why aren't you on the boat! What's wrong!" she exclaimed.

"Uh, well," he began, "I needed a break and then Phil Harris had a stroke, so I flew to Anchorage to be with him and his boys, and uh…" he trailed off.

"Hold on a minute," Sandra said, "Tae's here. Let me put you on speaker so you don't have to tell the whole story twice."

Juliette gave Johnathan a nervous smile. "Well, I guess that saves us a call," she whispered.

"Okay," Sandra came back on the line, "now we can both hear you. I filled Tae in so far, so just keep going."

"Hi, Daddy!" Tae said happily.

"Hi, Princess," he smiled. "Are you guys ready for the rest?"

"Yep," Tae answered.

"So anyway, I'm in Anchorage with Phil and Discovery sent Juliette here to help out Phil's cameraman and…"

"Oh good," Sandra interrupted, "I'm glad you're not alone."

"And I'm just happy you didn't manage to fuck it up with her, Dad!" Tae chimed in.

Blushing slightly, Johnathan continued, "Yeah, well, I must have done something right in this world because I asked her to marry me and she was crazy enough to say yes!"

The ensuing squeals that erupted from his mother and daughter caused Johnathan to hold the phone away from his ear until they died down.

"So, does that mean you two are happy?" he grinned.

"Of course we are!" his mother said happily. "Have you two set a date yet?"

"Yeah," he smirked. "Tonight."

"What!" Tae's voice exploded through the phone. "That's so cool!"

"We decided that we don't want to waste any time, so we're getting married tonight. That's why I called. We know that you guys can't make it up here in time and Andy, Neal and Scotty are still out fishing, so we thought we'd try to get everyone on one big conference call so you can all sort of be there."

"Dad, that's awesome!" Tae squealed.

Johnathan let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I'm glad you think so," he smirked.

"Is Juliette there right now?" Sandra asked. The smile on her face was evident in her voice.

"Yep," Johnathan answered, wrapping his arm around Juliette, "she's right here."

"Can I talk to her for a minute?" Sandra asked.

"Uh, sure," Johnathan said as a nervous-looking Juliette took the phone from him.

"Hi, Sandy," Juliette said uncertainly.

"Juliette, I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for both of you," Sandra replied. "I can't wait for you two to make it back to Homer so I can give you a big hug and welcome you to the family properly!"

"Sandy…I…," a tear slowly made its way down her cheek as she tried to find the words to tell Sandra Hillstrand how happy she was and how much it meant to her that she was a welcome addition to the Hillstrand family. She never got to finish her sentence as Tae had grabbed the phone from her grandmother.

"Julieeeeettttttteeeee!" Tae squealed excitedly, "I can't believe you guys are getting married! And the whole 'tonight' thing is so awesome!"

"Hi, Tae! I'm glad you approve!" Juliette grinned into the phone.

"Are you kidding," Tae answered breathlessly, "I've never seen my dad happier than when he's with you. I'm just glad he didn't fuck it all up!"

Juliette dissolved into giggles as Johnathan took the phone from her.

"I'll call you both later tonight," Johnathan said. "We've still gotta call the boat and tell them!"

"We'll both be here!" Tae exclaimed. "I love you, Daddy. Tell Juliette I love her too!"

"Will do," Johnathan grinned. "Bye!"

"Well," he turned Juliette with a smirk after hanging up the phone, "that went well!"

"You're not kidding," she smiled. "We should call the Time Bandit. I wanna tell Steve!"

Johnathan turned back to the phone and pressed a button to put the call on speaker.

"Time Bandit. This is Andy!" the voice crackled over the line.

"Hi brother," Johnathan replied.

"John, hey! What's up? How's Phil?" Andy asked.

"He's good. He's getting better every day." Johnathan answered. "Hey, I don't suppose the guys are all inside at the moment?"

"Nah," Andy laughed, "I'm being a slave driver. Why? Do you need to talk to Scotty?"

"Yeah, can you call him and Neal in?" Johnathan asked. "And while you're at it, who's filming in the wheelhouse right now?"

"Um, Tom's up here." Andy answered, sounding puzzled.

"When you call Scotty in, tell him to bring Steve with him and toss Tom on deck." Johnathan replied.

"Oookay," Andy said, sounding even more confused. "You wanna tell me what this is all about?"

"I promise," Johnathan smirked, "I'll tell you everything when you're all together."

After a few minutes, Johnathan and Juliette heard the sounds of Scotty, Neal and Steve entering the wheelhouse and Tom protesting being sent outside.

Andy's voice came back on the line. "All right, Captain Mysterio, we're all here. What's going on?"

"What's the last thing you thought I'd ever be calling to tell you guys?" Johnathan asked, winking at Juliette.

"You did not get us all together to tell us you're retiring, did you?" Neal demanded.

"Nope. Guess again." Johnathan laughed.

"The only other thing I can think of," Scotty said, "is that you're getting married."

"Hah!" Steve snorted. "There are better odds of monkeys flying outta my ass!"

Juliette cracked up laughing. "Hey, Steve, you'd better cut a hole in your pants so the monkeys can get out!" she sputtered.

There was a split second of silence before the entire wheelhouse exploded in hoots, cheers and laughs.

"Holy Shit!" Andy exclaimed, once he'd managed to get control of himself again. "You two are getting married! I always thought Juliette would make an awesome Hillstrand!"

"Thanks Andy!" Juliette grinned.

After accepting everyone's congratulations and well wishes Johnathan and Juliette quickly outlined their plan to get married that night in Phil's hospital room for the guys and it was quickly agreed on that the whole crew would be in the wheelhouse listening to the ceremony via phone.

When they finally got off the phone, Juliette glanced at the clock. "Crap!" she exclaimed.

"What's the matter?" Johnathan asked.

"We need to get moving, or we're going to be late!" she grinned.

"I still can't believe that you agreed to marry me, much less that you're willing to do it so fast," he said gently. "You know, we can put it off for a couple of months if you want to have a real wedding."

Juliette smiled. "John, I've never wanted a big wedding. I want you, not some stupid poufy dress."

"What about…"Johnathan trailed off, not entirely sure how to broach the subject of her previous engagement.

It took Juliette a moment before she realized what he was trying to ask her. "It's okay, John, you can ask about Simon. Somehow, since I fell in love with you, talking about it doesn't hurt as much as it used to. To answer your question, my parents were planning a huge shindig that neither of us wanted. Our plan was to have Steve with us at the courthouse and ask the judge's clerk to be the other witness. I meant it when I said I never wanted a big wedding. For me, it's about the marriage, not the wedding."

"Then let's go do this!" Johnathan smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Nope.

A/N#1: I feel it's only fair to warn you…this chapter may require tissues.

"Can everyone hear okay?" the Justice of the Peace asked.

"Yeah, we're right here," Phil slurred sarcastically.

"Yep," came Tae's excited voice through the speakerphone.

"Roger," Andy said cheerfully.

"Alright then, if everyone's ready, we can begin," said the Justice.

Todd Stanley, who had agreed to film the wedding and not tell the Discovery executives right away, shouldered his camera and began recording.

Johnathan squeezed Juliette's hand and they both nodded.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Justice began, "we have gathered together to celebrate the marriage of Juliette and Johnathan. Marriage is the promise between two people who love each other, who trust that love, who honor one another as individuals in that togetherness, and who wish to spend the rest of their lives together. Marriage is a commitment to a spiritual journey, to a life time of learning, growing and changing. Marriage is even deeper than commitment. It is a covenant – a covenant that says: I love you. I trust you. I will be here for you when you are hurting, and when I am hurting, I will not leave. It is a covenant intended not to provide haven from pain or from anger and sorrow. Life offers no such haven. Instead, marriage is intended to provide safe harbor in the storm.

Johnathan heard his mother and daughter sniffling through the phone as the Justice continued,

"Juliette, do you take Johnathan to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and protect him and forsaking all others be faithful to him until death do you part?

"I do," Juliette said softly.

"Johnathan, do you take Juliette to be your wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and protect her and forsaking all others be faithful to her until death do you part?"

"I do," he murmured.

"It is my understanding that you have each written your own vows to each other. Please make them now," the Justice said.

Juliette gave Johnathan a brilliant smile before beginning to speak. "John, because of you, I laugh, I smile, I dare to dream again. I look forward with great joy to spending the rest of my life with you, caring for you, being there for you in all life has for us. I take you as my husband and I vow to love you faithfully for as long as we both shall live."

Johnathan paused before reciting his own vows to swipe a rogue tear from his eye. "Juliette," he began, looking deep into her eyes, "I promise to love you today, tomorrow and forever. I will always be open, honest and faithful to you. I take you as my wife and I vow to love you for all the days of my life and until my last breath."

When he finished, tears were streaming down Juliette's face. As she wiped her eyes, she noticed that Phil had started tearing up as well and Josh was wiping his father's eyes. Steve's sniffles could be heard through the phone.

The pair quickly exchanged rings.

At last, the formalities were finished and the Justice of the Peace said, "Until now, Juliette and Johnathan have spent each moment of their lives as separate individuals. But from this day on, and every day after their each moment shall be shared and spent as one. By the power vested in me by the State of Alaska, I now pronounce you husband and wife! Johnathan, you may kiss your bride."

As Johnathan's lips crashed against Juliette's, Phil's hospital room, Sandra Hillstrand's kitchen, and the Time Bandit wheelhouse erupted into a beautiful cacophony of cheers and whistles.

When the noise finally died down, and the last well wish was accepted, Johnathan and Juliette escaped back to the sanctuary of their hotel room for the night. Jake and Josh had agreed to take the night shift with Phil so the newlyweds could have some time alone.

"I forgot to tell you how amazingly beautiful you look tonight," Johnathan murmured as he simultaneously kissed her neck and began tugging the white sweater she had on over her head.

Juliette attempted to unbutton his black shirt while he dropped haphazard kisses on her throat and collarbone. "Thanks," she gasped, you look pretty damn good too. Ugh! Screw it!" She gave up on the buttons and ripped his shirt open.

A chuckle rumbled deep in Johnathan's chest, "I think I'm really going to love being married to you!"

The next morning, the pair was awakened by the shrill ringing of Johnathan's cell phone.

"Mmmph," Johnathan mumbled as he pulled his wife closer to him and tried to ignore the noise. When it became obvious that the sound was not going to go away, he flipped the phone open and grunted, "Hello?"

"J-J-Johnathan," Josh Harris stuttered. "I'm sorry to bother you, but..." he trailed off.

"What's up, Josh? Is everything okay? How's Phil?" Johnathan said, sounding concerned as Juliette quickly sat up next to him.

"He's gone," Josh whispered. "My dad is gone."

Johnathan sat in stunned silence.

"Johnathan, are you there?" Josh asked.

Seeing the expression on Johnathan's face, Juliette knew instantly what had happened. She gently pried the phone from his hand.

"Josh, its Juliette. I'm so sorry. Do you want us to come to the hospital?"

"Yeah," Josh managed to croak before his grief got the best of him.

"We'll be there as soon as we can," she said.

After setting the phone back on the nightstand, she turned her attention to the man she had married less than twelve hours earlier. "John, I'm so sorry," she said gently.

Johnathan said nothing. He just collapsed into her arms and sobbed.

After about half an hour, Johnathan whispered, "I'm sorry for being such a cry baby. You don't have to stay here with me."

"You don't have anything to apologize for," she said soothingly. "You've lost a friend and it's okay to be sad. In case you forgot already, I promised to be here for you no matter what. I love you and I'm not going anywhere."

A/N #2: In case anyone cares, the wedding vows were cobbled together out of stuff I 'borrowed' from the internet. They are not entirely original.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: *checks under couch cushions **again*** Nope.

Chapter 8:

The gentle breeze and brilliant sunlight seemed out of place as Johnathan and Juliette stood amongst the other mourners at Phil's memorial service. The past week and a half had been a waking nightmare. Johnathan had very nearly skipped the memorial service in favor of returning to the Time Bandit, but Juliette had convinced him to attend in hopes that it would bring him some measure of closure.

As the minister intoned, 'We hereby commit the earthly body of Phillip Charles Harris to the ground. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…," Juliette fervently hoped that she had been right, that being here would bring Johnathan some measure of peace.

As the ceremony concluded, Josh and Jake Harris stepped forward and carefully, reverently, lowered one of the urns containing their father's ashes into the ground. After a few moments, the mourners began to slowly move away from the grave and toward the Captain's sons.

As they waited to talk to boys, Johnathan and Juliette were approached by Sig Hansen who had flown in from Dutch Harbor to attend the service. "Hey," he muttered, firing up a Camel.

"Hi, Sig," Johnathan greeted his friend as he fished in his pocket for a cigarette of his own. "I can't believe that you left the boat mid-season."

"Yeah, well, I talked it over with my crew and they were willing to make the season a couple days longer so…" he trailed off as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. Turning his attention to Juliette, he asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you were with the Coast Guard this season?" Before Juliette could formulate a response, Sig was distracted by his ringing cell phone. "Ugh," he grunted as he started to wander away, "I gotta take this."

"Saved by the phone!" Johnathan smirked. "I just want this damn season over with so we can go public."

Juliette nodded in silent agreement. They had, after several tense conversations, decided not to go public with their wedding announcement until opilio season was over. They both knew it was for the best, but neither was happy about it. Sighing, she scanned the crowd, her eyes coming to rest on a woman in dark jeans and a black leather jacket who was standing apart from the rest of the group, but watching them with a great deal of interest. The woman appeared to be trying to conceal her presence. Juliette poked Johnathan in the arm. "Do you recognize her?" she asked, discreetly gesturing toward the unknown woman. "I swear to God, if some soul-sucking reporter managed to sneak in here…"

Johnathan glanced over at the woman and he grunted, "Shit. I didn't think she'd be here. If Sig sees her it could mean some serious trouble."

"Who is she?" Juliette hissed.

"Rachel," he muttered. "She ghost wrote Phil's memoir."

"I don't get it," Juliette murmured. "Why is Sig going to be pissed if she's here?"

"Because," Johnathan replied, "she's also Sig's ex-girlfriend. The last time I saw her was the night before king crab season started. She was at the Elbow Room with Phil and his crew and she and Sig nearly got in a fist fight. I gotta go talk to her. Are you coming?"

Before Juliette had a chance to digest the new information, Johnathan had stalked off in the direction of the woman. Not entirely sure what was about to happen, she hurried after him.

The woman saw Johnathan walking toward her and appeared to relax a bit. "Hi, Johnathan," she greeted him in a quietly.

"Hey, Cookie," Johnathan replied. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Why?" Rachel asked. "And don't call me Cookie. Only Phil and his crew can call me that and live."

A wry grin twisted the corners of Johnathan's mouth. "Sorry. I was just so used to hearing him call you 'Cookie' that…" he trailed off as Juliette approached them.

Johnathan smiled as he quickly introduced the two women. "Juliette, this is Rachel Vaughn, Phil's friend and ghost writer. Rachel, this is my wife, Juliette."

Rachel looked momentarily taken aback. "Wife? Really? Man, I have been out of touch for a while. When did that happen?" And then she recovered. "I'm sorry," she said holding out her hand toward Juliette and smiling sheepishly, "that was terribly rude of me. It's nice to meet you, Juliette."

"Nice to meet you too, Rachel," Juliette answered returning the handshake; puzzled, but pleased that Johnathan had let their little secret out.

"Juliette and I got married the night before Phil…" Johnathan began, but choked, unable to finish his sentence.

"So you two are the reason he sounded so happy on the phone," Rachel's eyes sparkled. "I'm glad he was happy in the end."

"Hey, uh, Cookie -er- Rachel," Johnathan quickly corrected himself, "if you could be a doll and not tell anyone just yet. We're waiting until opie season is done before we go public."

"No problem," she smiled. "I saw that Captain Ahab is here. Did he see me?"

"No, I think you're safe," Johnathan replied, 'but you might want to get out of here before he does unless you're thinking of finishing the fight he started in Dutch."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I'm over it. Hopefully he is too. I'm not here to fight with him. I came to say goodbye to Phil."

"Where were you this time?" Johnathan asked.

"Indonesia," she replied as tears clouded her eyes. "I wasn't sure I'd make it back in time. You have no idea how hard it is trying to fly half way around the world on short notice."

Johnathan laid a hand on her arm to comfort her. "No," he said gently, "but Juliette does. I'll have to tell you the story of how she practically stole time last Christmas."

Rachel shook her head as though to clear her mind and smiled at the couple, "I look forward to hearing it some time soon, but, like you said, I should go before Sig sees me. Please let Josh and Jake know I was here. I'll be around for a while if either of them wants to talk. They've got my number." She slowly turned around and walked away.

Johnathan breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that went better than expected."

"She seemed really nice, John," Juliette replied cautiously. "I don't know why you thought there'd be a problem if Sig saw her."

"Trust me," he smirked, "there would have been trouble. I'll tell you all about it later."

"Sounds like an interesting story," she said; grateful that Johnathan was focusing on something other than his friend's death. "Any chance you want to tell me about it over some Chinese takeout in bed back at the hotel?" she smiled.

"Sounds perfect," he grinned. "I can't believe I'm going back to Dutch the day after tomorrow."

"I know," she said quietly "but you'll be home in no time and then we can take some time and go on that nice little tropical escape we talked about before all this craziness happened."

"Sounds good," he replied. "Then again, anything involving you and a beach sounds perfect to me."

The pair laughed softly as they turned to leave the cemetery and enjoy their last moments of stolen time before being separated again.

A/N: This story should be wrapping up in a few more chapters, but you've already gotten a sneak peek at my next story! Thanks for reading. If you want to make me really happy, leave me a review.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: They're not mine, but if they were…

Chapter 9:

"I don't want to leave you," Johnathan murmured as he held Juliette against him.

She smiled. "I know. I don't want you to leave either, but you've got one more trip to finish out the season. It'll be over and you'll be back before you know it."

Johnathan grinned at his wife, "Yeah, I know. I just want the damn season to be over with already so we can tell the world we got married and then run off on our honeymoon!"

"Any chance you're going to tell me where we're going?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Not a chance, Beautiful. It's my turn to surprise you. All you need is a couple of bikinis and your passport!" he chuckled.

"Ugh," she rolled her eyes playfully, "I'll have to see if I can get it out of Tae while she's helping me pack up all of my stuff at my old apartment."

Johnathan tensed up for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay with doing that on your own? I mean, we can go do it together when I get back if you want."

"Yes," she said evenly, "I'm sure. I want to be out of there before the news becomes public. I don't need a bunch of people getting in the way because they're trying to get a look at their favorite Deadliest Catch captain! Now get your ass on that plane so you can finish up that season and my bikini can get a proper work out!"

"You really are the most amazing woman on Earth," he said quietly as he dipped his head for one last kiss.

Although Juliette missed Johnathan like crazy, the next two weeks flew by. With the help of her newly minted stepdaughter, she flew to New York and cleared all of her belongings out of the tiny apartment she had shared with Steve since Simon had died. Part of her was sad to be leaving, but another part was anxious to get back to Alaska and start her life with Johnathan.

"I can't believe you don't have more stuff," Tae commented as she gestured at the small pile of boxes that were to be shipped to Homer.

Juliette smiled at her, "Well, I've never really been home long enough to accumulate much stuff and I like to travel light!"

"Speaking of traveling and never being home," Tae said, "what are you going to do now that you guys are married? Are you still going to work for Discovery?"

"I haven't really given it much thought," Juliette replied. "I guess I'll have to wait and see what the network execs decide to do with me after they find out about the wedding!"

"Have you guys decided on how to break the news?" Tae asked.

Juliette grinned. "Yeah, we're going to do it at one of the After the Catch tapings. I know they're planning to interview your dad about Phil's time in the hospital, so he'll probably mention it then. That's when Todd is going to give them the tape too."

Tae laughed. "You do realize that the announcement will probably cause a media circus, right?"

"Yep," Juliette replied. "That's why as soon as the news breaks we're running off on our honeymoon. I don't suppose your dad told you where he's taking me, did he?"

"Yeah right," Tae rolled her eyes. "All he told me was to make sure you went swimsuit shopping before you left New York. The options in Alaska suck! I'm sure he wouldn't object if you made a pit stop at LaPerla while you were at it!" she giggled.

The two women laughing as they left the apartment together and Juliette thought, _'I think I'm really going to love my new life.'_

Two weeks later, Juliette was pacing the docks in Dutch Harbor, waiting for the Time Bandit to come into port.

"If you pace any more, JD, you'll wear a hole in the dock!" came a male voice from behind her.

She jumped at the sound and turned to find Coast Guard commander Tim Rutherford standing there. "Jeez, Tim," she laughed, "it's not nice to sneak up on people!"

"How did I know you'd be here?" he chuckled in response before his face grew serious. "I heard you were in town and I wanted to tell you how sorry I was to hear about Phil Harris. I know you were there in the end. That had to be hard."

"Thanks," she said softly. "It was hard, but I'm happy that I was able to be there for John."

The Coast Guard commander let out a low whistle, "So I guess that means that you two are still together then. You should hear the rumors flying around this town."

"Do I even want to know?" she groaned.

"I think my favorite is that he dumped you, you left town in a rage, hooked up with Josh Harris and now carrying his lovechild," Tim snickered.

"Definitely not," she said firmly. "Although I can promise you that the gossip should go away soon."

"Oh really? Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked.

"Nope," she grinned. "You and the rest of the gossipy old hens in this town will just have to wait a while. Stay tuned!"

"Hopefully we won't have to wait much longer," the man grinned, "because here comes the Time Bandit!"

Juliette turned back to the water to see the Time Bandit and the Northwestern entering the mouth of the harbor and her heart took off at a sprint. As soon as the boat was tied up, she jumped the rail and raced up to the wheelhouse to find Johnathan.

"Hey, Beautiful!" Johnathan exclaimed as she flew through the wheelhouse door and threw herself into his arms.

"I missed you way too much," she whispered as her lips brushed against his neck.

"Careful now," he cautioned. "If you keep that up this wheelhouse is going to sound like a honeymoon suite!"

"That's kind of my plan," she grinned.

However, before she could continue, the rest of the Time Bandit crew and Steve burst into the wheelhouse whooping loudly and covering both of them with can after can of silly string.

"Welcome to the family, Juliette!" Andy shouted above the ruckus.

When the mayhem finally ceased, the wheelhouse was a wreck and everyone was laughing hysterically.

"Whaddya say we head to the Elbow Room and give Dutch Harbor a reason to celebrate," Scott sputtered.

"Uh," Johnathan began sheepishly, "we weren't going to make an announcement until After the Catch was filmed."

"You've gotta be kidding me?" Scott stared at his father in disbelief. "You expect to be able to keep it quiet that long? Forget about it. Tom Miller may not have been in here to hear it on the phone, but I'm pretty sure he knows and he's probably off blabbing to the network as we speak!"

"Shit!" Juliette muttered. "I hadn't thought about that."

"Hey, guys," Johnathan said after a long pause, "can you give us a couple of minutes here?"

Grumbling, the Time Bandit crew filed out of the wheelhouse and Johnathan turned to Juliette. "So much for our plan of escaping before the media circus," he muttered.

"It's fine," she said quietly. "I'd rather we make the announcement than let Discovery do it for us."

"You're right," he replied. "I just hoped that we could be long gone before a bunch of reporters and photographers had a chance to bother us."

"I know," she answered, "but Scott's right. There's no way to make that happen now."

Johnathan chuckled, "I hope you feel like getting hammered tonight. Everyone's going to be buying you Duck Farts to celebrate!"

Juliette made a face.

"Don't tell me you don't like Duck Farts!" he exclaimed.

Juliette shook her head as she pulled out her cell phone. "No, it's not the Duck Farts I have a problem with. I just don't want to make the phone call I'm about to make."

Johnathan looked puzzled. "Who are you calling?"

"My parents," she said grimly as she dialed. "I should probably tell them before they read it in the newspaper. This should be about as much fun as a root canal."

Juliette had hoped to get her mother's voicemail, but unfortunately she picked up on the second ring.

"Do you know how many messages I've left for you?" Sharon Dean nearly shouted.

"Hello, Mother," Juliette said quietly.

"I think the least you could do is apologize for your rudeness, Juliette," her mother said.

"Mother, I was unavailable. I told you that when I'm working I don't always have cell reception and even if I do, it's usually impossible for me to call anyone back at a reasonable hour," Juliette answered coolly, trying to reign in her temper.

"Nonsense," the older woman said. "I was trying to arrange your dress fitting for your sister's wedding and now it's going to be nearly impossible to get your dress from the same dye lot as the other bridesmaids'. You need to get your priorities straight."

"Did you even think to tell me when that wedding is?" Juliette asked, gritting her teeth.

"It's in four weeks. You need to be here in the next three days to get fitted for your dress, attend her bridal showers and to help with the last minute details. Also, you will not be bringing that hippie film friend of yours to Carrington's wedding. I've found you a suitable escort for the wedding," her mother replied.

Juliette stifled a giggle. This was about to get very interesting. "Mother, I won't be there in three days for any of that stuff and I won't be there in four weeks for the wedding, either."

"What are you talking about?" Sharon Dean snapped. "Of course you'll be here. You can't use your pathetic little job as an excuse to miss your sister's wedding! Do you know what people would say about this family if you weren't here? Also, I went to a great deal of effort finding you an escort."

Johnathan watched as his wife's eyes darkened with rage. "First of all, Mother, it's a career, not a 'pathetic little job', but I know you don't understand what that means because you've never worked a day in your life! Second, I couldn't care less what people say about me or the rest of the family. You should try it. It's quite liberating. Finally, I'm not coming because I'll be on my honeymoon and I'm pretty damn sure that my husband would object to you setting me up on a blind date!" Juliette spat.

There was a long pause before Sharon Dean's shocked voice replied, "Excuse me? You expect me to believe that you actually got married? Juliette, I don't appreciate your twisted sense of humor."

"You heard me, Mother. John and I got married a few weeks ago and I thought I'd do the decent thing and tell you before you read about it in one of those celebrity gossip rags you read, but since you've been nothing but cruel and insulting since you picked up the phone you can find out the details along with the rest of the world," she said, a small smile of satisfaction playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Why would I read about your marriage in the gossip column?" Sharon asked coolly.

"That's where the news tends to end up when one of the stars of a reality TV show marries one of the producers," she giggled.

"You married a reality star?" Sharon sputtered in shock.

"Yep," Juliette smiled as she perched on Johnathan's lap and his arms wound around her. "I have the distinct pleasure of being Mrs. Johnathan Hillstrand."

"You married a man from that show about fishermen?" Sharon sounded completely aghast. "That is completely unacceptable! Do you know how much this is going to embarrass your father and me?"

Juliette finally lost her temper. "You disgust me, Mother!" she shouted. "I don't give a damn what you find to be acceptable or not. I called to tell you that I'm happy and in love and you haven't even had the decency to try to be happy for us. I've deserved better than all of you for a long time and I'm done. Tell Carrington that I hope she and that automaton she's marrying have a wonderful life together." She flipped her phone closed, slid the starboard window open, and threw it into the icy waters of Dutch Harbor.

"Damn, that felt good!" she said happily as she turned back to Johnathan.

Steve, who had been lurking just outside the wheelhouse door burst in and bear-hugged his best friend. "Holy shit! You finally told that miserable crow to shove it!" he crowed.

"Yeah, well, she's had that coming for a long time and we both know it," Juliette replied. "I'm not letting anyone, especially my mother, rain on my parade."

"You sound like a show tune!" Steve snickered.

"Shut up!" she punched him playfully in the arm.

"I hate to break up a good fight," Johnathan teased as he pinned Juliette's arms to her sides, "but we should probably get moving or the news is going to be all over Dutch before we get to the Elbow Room!"

"Well then Captain," she giggled, "we should get going. Apparently I have a lot of Duck Farts in my future!"

A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update. Things have been insane at the office (staff changes, training new personnel, soothing cranky clients) and I just haven't had time to sit down and write anything I'm willing to publish. As always, reviews are appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Last verse, same as the first.

A/N: It's been a while (again)…sorry about that.

* * *

Chapter 10:

By the time Johnathan, Juliette and Steve made their way to the Elbow Room, the post-season party was in full swing. All the crews were there; celebrating their safe returns, mourning Phil's passing and drinking everything in sight. As soon as they entered the bar, Johnathan rang the bell signaling that he was buying a round for everyone. The noisy fishermen momentarily quieted as Johnathan yelled, "Everyone have a Duck Fart…for Phil!" The men clapped and hooted in appreciation.

After everyone had had a shot, Johnathan rang the bell again. Everyone looked up from their drinks, a bit confused. "I know, I know," Johnathan began, "you already got one drink on me. Well get ready to have another because the Hillstrands are celebrating tonight!"

"What are you celebrating?" Edgar Hansen shouted from the back of the room.

"We're celebrating a new family member," Johnathan shouted back. "Everyone, this is the newest member of the Hillstrand family, my wife, Juliette!" The crowd roared in approval.

As the night wore on, all the captains and their crews made their way over to the Time Bandit table with rounds of drinks and shots. Juliette was certain she'd never drank so much in her entire life, yet all the drinks didn't seem to be having much of an effect on her husband or his crew. Steve on the other hand, had long ago given up and crawled back to the Grand Aleutian to try to sleep off what would inevitably be a monstrous hangover.

At one point, Johnathan noticed that Sig Hansen wasn't joining in on the festivities. He was sitting at his table, nursing what had to be his tenth vodka tonic of the night and chain smoking. Catching Edgar's arm as he passed by, Johnathan asked, "What's with Sig tonight? He looks like someone just ran over his dog."

Edgar rolled his eyes. "Apparently there was an incident after Phil's funeral."

"Whaddya mean 'an incident'?" Johnathan asked, trying to process Edgar's words through a fog of alcohol.

"All he'll tell me is that he saw Rachel," Edgar shrugged. "I keep trying to find out more, but he's not talking. He came back from Seattle in a funk and stayed that way."

"Shit!" Johnathan muttered. "I talked to her at the funeral. I thought she got outta there before he saw her. I guess not. Did he come back all beat up?"

"Nah," Edgar grinned as he fired up a cigarette, "at least none that we saw!"

"Huh," Johnathan shook his head, "I wonder what happened?"

"We'll find out eventually," Edgar replied as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. "I wouldn't worry about it, I think you're going to have your hands full getting your wife back to the boat," he pointed at Juliette who was starting to look a little green. Congrats, by the way!"

"Thanks, man," Johnathan grinned as they shook hands.

Turning to his wife, he murmured, "Had enough fun for one night?"

"Ugh," she whimpered as her eyes fluttered open, "remind me that I'm never drinking again!"

"Let's get you home," he said as he wrapped her in his jacket and gently scooped her into his arms.

* * *

The next morning, Juliette awoke with the mother of all hangovers.

"Mornin' Beautiful," Johnathan said quietly as her left eye opened a crack.

"Mmmph," she groaned, as she buried her face in her pillow.

Johnathan gently turned her over and pushed a handful of ibuprofen and a bottle of water into her hands. "Trust me," he murmured, "it'll help."

After she managed to swallow the pills, Juliette muttered, "I never want to see another Duck Fart for the rest of my natural life. How the hell do you guys drink those things like they're water?"

"Practice, babe. Practice," he smirked. "If it makes you feel better, Mike's in worse shape than you are!"

She smiled wryly. "It does help a little." Suddenly, she realized that the Time Bandit was moving. "Um, John," she started, looking confused, "why is the boat moving? I thought we were docked?"

A low laugh rumbled in Johnathan's chest. "We've been moving for three hours and you just noticed now?"

"I was sleeping!" she exclaimed as she playfully swatted his arm. "Where are we going?"

"Home," he answered. "We, Andy and I, decided to head for Homer before the news leaked out of Dutch and the media vultures started to circle."

"You know that just means that they'll be waiting for us in Homer," she rolled her eyes.

"That's why you and I are leaving about three hours after we dock," he replied.

"You wanna tell me where we're going?" she queried.

"Well," Johnathan grinned, pulling her into his arms, "we did just get married. We're heading to Mexico, for a proper honeymoon."

"Mmm," she smiled, snuggling closer to him and pressing gentle kisses along his neck, "that sounds fantastic."

"Remember what I told you, Beautiful. Keep that up and this place is going to sound like a honeymoon suite," he groaned as he crushed her lips to his and his hands began to roam over her body.

"That," she gasped between kisses, "was my plan all along."

* * *

Several hours later, the pair emerged from Johnathan's stateroom and found Andy in the wheelhouse with his iPod headphones jammed tightly in his ears. Juliette snuck up behind him and flipped his hat off his head causing him to jump about a foot into the air.

"Jeez, you scared me!" he grinned.

"Sorry," Juliette smiled sheepishly.

"No problem," Andy replied. "You know I wouldn't need the headphones if you two would keep it down in there!"

Johnathan rolled his eyes. "We weren't that loud!"

"Uh, dude, if that was keeping it down, I'd hate to hear loud! I'm pretty sure they could hear you in Seattle!" Andy guffawed.

Juliette blushed, but didn't miss a beat. "Andy, if we were being loud, they'd be able to hear us in Chicago!"

"See!" Andy poked Johnathan in the arm, "I told you she's going to make an awesome Hillstrand!"

* * *

True to his word, Johnathan and Juliette were on a plane to Cabo San Lucas within three hours of tying up in Homer.

They spent two idyllic weeks soaking up the sun, sleeping late, and, of course, racking up numerous noise complaints from the neighboring hotel rooms.

* * *

A/N: Okay, that's it. Show's over! Thanks so much to everyone who has read and reviewed this story as well as Stolen Time. Stay tuned for my upcoming Sig/Rachel story. You never know who might pop up in that one!


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